Caviness Woodworking Company, Inc. is a family owned and operated manufacturing company that produces boat paddles and oars for the marine, fishing tackle, canoeing, kayak and whitewater rafting industries all over the world. The company was founded in the late 1940’s by the James T. “Jimmy” Caviness and became incorporated in September of 1954. Initially, the company made wooden furniture parts and brooms as well as paddles and oars. With the enormous amount of fishing habitat in North Mississippi, which includes Grenada, Sardis, Enid and Arkabutla Reservoirs and their tributaries, Jimmy Caviness saw the need for good-quality, low-cost john boat paddles. He retired in 1972 at the age of sixty eight and died in January of 1989.

In 1961 James B. “Jim” Caviness, son of James T. Caviness, purchased shares of the company and began his business career. Jim Caviness expanded the business from local markets into international markets. In the late 1980’s, he also initiated Caviness Woodworking Company’s successful venture into the whitewater rafting, canoeing, kayaking and outfitting industries with a new product line of synthetic paddles and oars. Jim Caviness is currently the Chairman of the Board of Caviness Woodworking Company, Inc.

In 1980 James D. “Don” Caviness, son of James B. Caviness and a member of the third generation, entered the family business. He has actually been exposed to the business since the age of eleven and learned the business from the ground up. Don Caviness has guided the company as

President since 1986. He and his brother, Mike, have recently ventured into the canoeing, kayaking, and outfitting retailer market by introducing a new line of CavPro products that consists of both wooden and synthetic products. Don has continued the tradition of excellence in manufacturing and marketing which had been put forth by his family members.

In 1990 Michael E. “Mike” Caviness, another member of the third generation and also a son of James B. Caviness, entered the company.  Mike’s main emphasis is on governmental regulations, EDI implementation and administration, and computer automation of manufacturing machinery. Mike is also responsible for the procurement of all materials pertaining to the manufacture of synthetic products as well as all corrugation for the entire company. He is Vice President of Caviness Woodworking, Inc.

In 2008 James K. “Kris” Caviness, the son of James D. Caviness and a member of the fourth generation of Caviness manufacturers, began full-time in the family business. Currently, Kris’s main responsibilities are to service select accounts from the order entry process all the way through to the shipping of our product. He also performs many of the accounts payable functions of our day-to-day business. Finally, he has been extremely instrumental in the development of our new CavPro product line as well as our new website.

Over the past 60 years, Caviness Woodworking Company, Inc. has grown from a “backyard” operation into the world’s largest manufacturer of paddles and oars. This growth can be directly attributed to the hard work and dedication of its employees and their determination to become not only the largest company in the paddle and oar industry, but also the best.